A/N: Thank you for reading!

To Love Someone

Chapter 6

"The Encantadas" was first published in 1854, written by Herman Melville; the small book, called a novella at the time, covered Gil Grissom's face. The book was actually ten stories about different islands that made up the Galapagos Islands. He'd read the book several times, knew the stories almost word-for-word; today, he had put it in his bag because of its light weight and the probability that he would not read a word.

The book shaded his face but he did not sleep. The noises he heard were those of cheerful happiness so he let his mind float into the past.

...That day in the San Diego harbor, Grissom, upon seeing Sara, a warm and luminous vision in the bright rays of morning sun, knew his life was changing. He could remember his breath catching in his throat; his feet seemed rooted to the boat deck. An eternity passed before she was in his arms, his face pressed into her sweet-smelling hair. How many times had he dreamed of her this way? Her effect on him was complete, engaging every sense and nerve; an intoxication he had known for so long and he had carried with him ever since the day she had asked her first question.

They had hugged and smiled; they had kissed and laughed. They had loved each other and quietly spoken of dreams of the other. They had spent several days on the ocean before heading to the harbor in Los Angeles and the small house his mother had owned for years.

In that house, amid stacked boxes and furniture his mother had left in the house when she moved to Vegas, they had made plans as the familiar place had changed from a house where he seldom slept to the home he would share with the woman he loved. Over two weeks, they had basked in warmth and watered his plants that attracted bees and butterflies. They ate outside on the raised deck, sitting lazily on old canvas deck chairs which had been in storage above the garage for a decade.

Occasionally, Grissom had mentioned a research report; "it's about the islands," he'd said. Of course, she knew the islands because he had told her about the months he had spent tramping across the Galapagos Islands in search of invasive ants.

More than once, he had found her gazing at him, just gazing, and he would smile. Only once, he asked her what she was thinking and she had replied, "About you—I'm thinking about you." Said with a truthfulness of innocence that made him want to hold her.

Late one night, sitting under a city sky that never completely darkened, a feeling of peace and contentment came to him; a state he had missed.

A month from the date Sara had arrived on the dock, they returned to Las Vegas. Madeline Klein, now Judge Klein, met them at the courthouse, a smile spread across her face as she said, "This time it will last or I'm coming after both of you."

The entire team, along with Nick Stokes, watched as the official service of marriage was pronounced in abbreviated fashion; dinner and a celebratory party waited for them at the Eclipse Casino where, it seemed, most of the lab and half of the police force joined them.

They had remained in Vegas for two months; two months in a land-locked city made Grissom realize how much he missed salty air and the quiet freedom of sitting on his boat in the middle of a very large ocean.

Chuckling at his thoughts, he brought himself back to his surroundings as a delightful squeal reached his ears.

Five years since the day he knew his life would change—and, indeed, it had changed. They were reaching the end of his ninety-day research project at the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora. They had visited the Galapagos Islands—separately— and without hesitation, they had decided this trip should not be postponed.

Settling into the small apartment, they had been tourists for a week before Sara had ventured into the less-touristy part of town. She had returned with enough beans and rice to feed them for three months, captivated by the friendly locals and the ease of vegetarian grocery shopping.

Grissom removed the book and raised his head enough to see his wife standing in clear azure-colored water of the calm cove. The isolated beach was a two-mile walk from the nearest public access so few tourists made the trek. Today, there were other groups, widely spaced on the crescent of narrow beach, some, as he, were resting in the shade of mangrove trees.

Within an easy reach of Sara, three year old twins, Carson and Harper, were standing in four inches of clear, cool water, ruffles of waves splashing on their legs, as their mother pointed to a slivery fish darting around their feet. Carson had squealed while his sister had attempted to catch the fish with her hands.

Sara had scooped her daughter up as the child's face had touched the water. Grissom watched for several minutes as mother and daughter had brief, laughing words before Sara put Harper back into the water. Placing her hand on her son's shoulder, she said something to Carson who made the same tinkling peal of child laughter as his sister.

Propped up on his elbow watching his family, Grissom remembered the day when Sara announced she was pregnant—it had been an extended process but not as lengthy as others had experienced—with clear indications of twins. His response had been "I feel very responsible."

Sara turned, smiled, and waved to him, happiness blooming across her face. She never aged, he thought; she could easily pass for thirty instead of the middle of forty. As she turned, her shirt, wet after picking up Harper, clung to her body, molding across her round belly. In three months, they would add another child, a second son, to the family.

Pushing off the sand, he headed to her and his children, smiling, peaceful, content. He felt very responsible.

The End

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